Windshield wiper

ABSTRACT

A windshield wiper having a wiper blade formed with a wiping edge and attached to one or more spring bows or bails along which wiper blade on at least one side of the wiping edge facing the windshield to be wiped there is provided a pad adapted to store a cleaning fluid and evenly to release the same onto the windshield during the wiping operation. The pad is attached to a backing strip provided with fastening means projecting towards the spring bows or bails and facing each other from opposite sides of the backing strip in paired juxtaposition while the fastening means cooperate with the clip means extending across the back of the wiper blade.

This is a division of co-pending application Ser. No. 456,976 --Priesemuth filed Apr. 1, 1974, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,019,216 --Priesemuth, issued Apr. 26, 1977 (Monday).

The invention relates to a windshield wiper comprising a wiper bladeformed with a wiping edge and attached to one or more spring bows orbails, and a pad extending along the length of the wiper blade on atleast one side of the wiping edge facing the windshield with which it isadapted to make surface contact, said pad being adapted to store acleaning fluid and evenly to release the same onto the windshieldsurface during the wiping operation.

In practice, this windshield wiper has generally given a good account ofitself. It distributes the cleaning fluid evenly across the windshieldand enables even considerably fould windshields to be quickly andsatisfactorily cleaned by a relatively small amount of cleaning fluid.However, it has been found that in some types of wiper the affixation ofthe pad is rather awkward. Also, in the case of some windshield wipersthe quality of the material used for making the wiper blade is such thatafter a certain period of use of the wiper, the pad tends to work loose.

It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide awindshield wiper of the above mentioned general type in which the pad iseasily and reliably attachable to the wiper blade.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will appear moreclearly from the following specification in connection with theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a windshield wiper according to the invention with a pad justprior to being attached to the wiper blade.

FIG. 2 is a cross section of a windshield wiper with the pad securedthereto.

FIG. 3 is a view of one end of a pad from below.

FIG. 4 is a view of a pad containing a plurality of open pores.

FIG. 5 is a clip for securing the pad.

FIG. 6 is a side view of a pad on its backing strip.

FIG. 7 is a side view of a windshield wiper having a roll-type wiperblade.

FIG. 8 shows one end of the roll of a roll-type wiper partly in view andpartly in section.

FIG. 9 is a side view of the mounting of a roll in the spring bail.

FIG. 10 is a cross section taken on the line X -- X in FIG. 12.

FIG. 11 is a view of an axle which extends from end to end through aroll.

FIG. 11A is an end view of a flat section steel configuration of theaxle in FIG. 11.

FIG. 11B is an end view of a square configuration of the axle in FIG.11.

FIG. 12 is a view of the wiping face of a roll as seen from below.

FIG. 13 is a view of a spring bail fitted with stub axles.

FIG. 14 is a section of a roll taken on the line XIV -- XIV in FIG. 16.

FIG. 15 is a cross section of a roll similar to that in FIG. 14, butwithout the stub axle.

FIG. 16 shows a windshield wiper and inserted wiper roll partly insection and partly in view.

The windshield wiper according to the invention is characterizedprimarily in that the pad is attached to a backing strip provided withfastening means projecting towards the bails and located in pairedjuxtaposition on opposed sides of the backing strip, said fasteningmeans cooperating with spring clips which extend across the back of thewiper blade.

In such an arrangement of the wiper blade the pad is held firmly againstthe lowermost flange of the blade by the spring clips. Even afterlengthy use it cannot work itself loose on the flange. For replacing thewiper blade, the clips can be detached from the fastening means by asimple manipulation, permitting the pad to be slidably removed from thewiper blade.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention the wiper blade has the formof a roll adapted to tilt about its longitudinal axis in the springbail, the nose of the wiper blade projecting from the roll towards thewindshield and the surface of the roll adjacent the nose on at least oneside being covered by the pad which bears on the windshield surfaceduring the wiping operation.

A tiltably mounted roll has the advantage that the pad can be urged intocontact with the windshield with considerable pressure without therebycausing the nose of the wiper blade to be very considerably deformed.The embodiment of the wiper blade as a roll is simpler than thatcomprising a plurality of transverse flanges and it can, therefore, alsobe more cheaply produced.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, the windshield wiper shown inthe drawings consists substantially of a wiper blade 1, spring bows orbails 2, and a pad 3. The wiper blade 1 is formed with a plurality ofparallel transverse webs or flanges 4, and the uppermost flange issecured to the bail 2. The centers of the flanges 4 are interconnectedby a narrow web 5 which extends beyond the bottom flange towards thewindshield and terminates in a wedge-section lip 6. During the wipingaction, the web 5 and the lip 6 are deformed and bend over sideways,permitting the wiping faces 7 to slide across the windshield surface. Inorder to assist the elastic flexing motion of the web 5, the portionsintermediate the flanges 4 are thin.

The pad 3 has a narrow elongated central opening 8. This is so contrivedthat the lip 6 of the wiper blade can be pushed through the opening. Ifthe material of the pad is not sufficiently elastically flexible, a gapremains between the wiping faces 7 and the sides 9 of this centralopening 8 so that deflection of the lip 6 is not impeded.

The pad 3 has the form of a rectangular section open-pore strip ofrubber, synthetic plastics or the like. Its thickness is designed toensure that in the underformed state, the edge of the lip 6 of the web 5will project beyond the underside 10 of the pad facing the windshield.During the wiping action the web 5 is deflected sufficiently for theunderside 10 to make contact with and press on the windshield surfaceand for the wiping face 7 to be pressed into flush alignment with theunderside 10 of the pad.

The pad 3 is attached to a backing 11 made of thin spring steel strip.The underside 12 of the backing 11 covers the top 13 of the pad 3 facingthe bottom flange 4. The underside 12 is formed with fasteners 14 bentupwards towards the spring bails 2. These fasteners may either containan eye or they may have a hook-shaped end. The fasteners 14 face eachother in pairs from opposite sides of the backing strip 11. Thefasteners 14 of each pair are connected by a spring clip 15 which spansthe width of the wiper blade 1 and thus secures the pad 3 to the blade.The spring clips 15 may be formed at each end with a hook 16 or with aneyelet 17 for cooperation with the eyelets or hooks of the fasteners 14.The two ends of the clips are pushed elastically downwards towards thepad 3 and their restoring spring force thus pulls the pad 3 up againstthe bottom flange 4. Furthermore, the spring clips 15 are formed with anarrow loop 18 centrally at the top which imparts considerableresilience to the clip in the direction in which the loop is deformed.

The backing strip 11 has a central slot 19 which conforms in size withthe central opening 8, so that the lip 6 of the blade 1 can also passthrough this slot 19.

The lip 6 of the wiper blade moves across the windshield surface. At thesame time a liquid cleaning fluid, such as water, with or without anadditive, is sprayed on the windshield. The pad 3 which is made of afoamed synthetic plastics material containing large pores 21 soaks upthe cleaning fluid. The wiping motion deflects the web 5 until thewiping faces 7 are flush with the underside 10 of the pad 3 which ispressed against the windshield by the pressure exerted by the springbails 2. The cleaning fluid which has been soaked up is squeezed evenlyout of the pores 21 during the wiping action and wets the windshieldsurface which is to be cleaned. The wiper is thus able to clean theuniformly wetted windshield surface by the wiping action of the wipingfaces 7.

The pad could also consist of a rubber-like material having a contactsurface containing honeycomb cells separated by thin webs. During thewiping process, these cells fill with cleaning fluid and later releasethe fluid evenly on to the wiped windshield surface.

When the pad 3 has been secured, the lip 6 of the wiper blade isthreaded through the slot 19 and the central opening 8 until the backingstrip 11 bears against the underside of the bottom flange of the wiperblade 1. The eyelets 17 in the clips 15 are then attached to thefasteners 14. Hence the clips 15 will bear down on the top flange 4 ofthe wiper blade 1 and will thus establish a reliable connection betweenthe pad 3 and the wiper blade 1.

The wiper blade 1 may alternatively have the form of a roll 23 which isaxially pierced by a hole 24 having a suitable cross section for thereception of an axle 25 which projects from each end 26 of the roll. Inan appropriate position on its circumference the roll 23 is formed witha wiping lip 6 for cleaning the windshield. On each side of the lip 6the circumference of the roll 23 carries a pad 3 which in thisembodiment may similarly consist of a large pored foamed plastics or arubber material containing honeycomb cells.

Mountings 27 are provided at opposite ends of the spring bail 2 for thereception of the ends of the axle 25 projecting from the ends 26 of theroll. If the axle 25 consists of a flat steel section 25' (FIG. 11A) ora square section 25" (FIG. 11B), then the hole 24 will be conformablyshaped to provide a firm connection between the roll 23 and the axle 25by the resultant friction between the axle and the walls of the hole.Each mounting 27 has a substantially circular opening 28 of the diametersufficient to accommodate the width of the steel section. The edges ofthe section are thus located and guided by the internal circumference ofthe opening 28. Projections or cams 29 with semicircular ends may bearranged to extend from the above and below into the opening 28. Theseprojections 29 serve first of all to assist in supporting the axle 25and secondly they function as stops limiting the rotation of the axle toa predetermined angle of tilt. The described form of construction ofthis mounting 27 may be adopted at one or both ends of the bail 2.

The hole 24 may extend through the roll 23 in a central or eccentricposition. Moreover, the axle 25 may be made of any standard profilesavailable in the trade, and the design of the mounting 27 will thendepend upon the configuration of the selected profile or section. Theaxle may also consist of some material other than steel. Besides metal,materials such as plastics or hard rubber may be considered.

The roll 23 may also be mounted on axle pins 30 fixed in the mounts 27of the spring bail 2. A compression spring 32 contained in anappropriate bore 31 in the roll 23 may then apply thrust to each axlepin in the direction towards the bearing 27, and each axle pin 30 may beformed with a projection 33 which functions as a stop for limitingrotation by engaging a recess 34 occupying a quadrant in the internalwall of the bore 31.

When the windshield is being wiped, the roll 23 tilts into the positionshown in FIGS. 9 and 14, in which the wiping face of the lip 6 wipes thewindshield. At the same time, the pad 3 on the circumferential surfaceof the roll 23 is pressed against the windshield and releases thecleaning fluid that is stored in its pores. When the wiper reverses itsdirection of motion, the roll 23 tips over to the side to bring theother face 7 of the lip into wiping contact with the windshield. At thesame time, the pad 3 on this side of the roll is brought into pressurecontact with the windshield. The angle of tilt is limited either by theprojection 39 which intercepts the axle 25 or by the quadrant-shapedrecess 34 which limits the angle of tilt of the projection 33.

Instead of making use of springs 32, cooperation with the mounts 27 mayalso be obtained by providing the roll 23 with a steel axle sectionwhich engages the mount 27. It is also possible to make use of theelastic thrust of the rubber of the roll 23 for keeping the axle pins 30in engagement with their mountings 27. In such a case the axle pins 30should be supported inside the roll 23 in such a way that the elasticthrust of the rubber is sufficient to keep the pins 30 in the mountings27.

Various forms of construction of the roll may be selected. The roll may,for instance, have a round or an oval cross section. Alternatively, someother cylindrical body may be used, provided it ensures that in thetilted position of the roll, the pad 3 will bear satisfactorily againstthe windshield surface.

It is, of course, to be understood that the present invention is, by nomeans, limited to the specific showing in the drawings but alsocomprises any modifications within the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:
 1. A windshield wiper which includes: spring bow means,a wiper blade in the form of a roll having wiping edge means and beingconnected to said spring bow means, a pad fastened to said roll andextending substantially along the length of said roll on at least thatone side of said wiping edge means which faces the windshield to becontacted thereby, said pad being adapted to receive and store acleaning fluid and substantially evenly to release the same onto thewindshield to be wiped, rotary support means between the ends of saidroll and the free ends of said spring bow means for holding said rollrotatable about its longitudinal axis in said spring bow means, and awiper blade lip on said wiping edge means projecting from said rolltowards the windshield to be wiped, the surface of said pad adjacent atleast one side of said lip bearing on the windshield surface to be wipedduring the wiping operation of said windshield wiper.
 2. A windshieldwiper according to claim 1, in which said rotary support means isprovided with stop means for limiting rotation of said roll about itsaxis to a given pivot angle of tilt.
 3. A windshield wiper according toclaim 2, in which said rotary support means have the form of a backingstrip extending longitudinally through said roll and being frictionallysecured therein, mountings being arranged in said spring bow means andreceiving the ends of said backing strip.
 4. A windshield wiperaccording to claim 3, in which said backing is a steel sectionfrictionally embedded in said roll, said spring bow means having acircular opening receiving and journalling said backing strip, saidspring bow means also having projections for limiting rotary motion ofthe roll to within prescribed angular limits.
 5. A windshield wiperaccording to claim 4, in which said projections extend towards thecenter of said circular opening and have semicircular ends to affordsupport to said backing strip inside said circular opening.
 6. Awindshield wiper according to claim 5, in which said backing strip is alength of flat section steel.
 7. A windshield wiper according to claim2, in which said rotary support means include axle pin means projectinginto each end of said roll and being mounted in said spring bow means,said rotary support means being adapted to limit rotary motion of saidroll to a prescribed angle.
 8. A windshield wiper according to claim 7,which includes mountings in said spring bow means and have said axle pinmeans secured therein so that they cannot rotate, at least one of saidaxle pin means having a projection inside said roll, said roll having arecess therein cooperating with said projection for limiting rotation ofsaid roll to a prescribed angle.
 9. A windshield wiper according toclaim 8, in which said axle pin means are provided with shoulder means,and which includes compression spring means extending through said rolland bearing against said shoulder means to urge the same in a directionkeeping them in engagement with said mountings in said spring bow means.10. A windshield wiper according to claim 2, in which said rotarysupport means comprise a steel section provided with at least oneprojection, said steel section extending through said roll andresiliently engaging the two ends of said spring bow means, said rollbeing rotatably mounted on said steel section of which the projectionengages said recess.
 11. A windshield wiper according to claim 10, inwhich said steel section is a square steel section.